after all he's picked a couple and taught constitutional law. he said over and over again for him this is all about what's in a judge's heart. when he nominated sonia sotomayor to the supreme court, president obama laid out his criteria for justices. chief among them empathy. >> it is experience that give a person common sense and touch and compassion and understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live. and that is why it is a necessary ingredient in the kind of justice we need on the supreme court. >> reporter: it's a trait president obama probably wishes more justices shared when they decided citizens united, the case that largely removed independent corporate spending limits on federal political campaigns. he called out the high court during his 2010 state of the union address. >> with all due deference to separation of powers, last week the supreme court reversed a century of law that i believe will open the flood gates for special interests. >> reporter: four months later the president made sure to highlight similar themes